RWBY: The Lost Kingdom
by brony757
Summary: When the shadows that hold Remnant in its grasp begin to creep forwards for the kill, the Kingdoms of Remnant shall reunite with their brethren, long ago thought lost, and together, they shall drive back the darkness. Their Will is Iron. The are the Kingdom of Virtus.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello one and all! Welcome to my very first RWBY fiction! (Applaud) Thank you, thank you. I must admit, the ideas for this have been bouncing around for years now, and I finally had enough. I had to write something. I hope you all enjoy it.**

According to legend, Remnant has been the home of Humans and Faunus for as long as time had existed, and that the two brothers, the original creators of both peoples, had left this world to their children, to rule as they saw fit. The God of Darkness had also created the Grimm, before helping to create Man and Fanaus, to destroy what his brother created and it was this creation that became the gravest threat the children of the Two Brothers faced. Under the leadership of Salem, a perfect hybrid of Grimm and Human, lead the ferocious creatures, hoping snuff out the light of civilization and plunge the world into darkness.

It was after the discovery of dust, that the Grimm were pushed back and life began to grow once more. Kingdoms rose on the continents, protected by the natural barriers of the wilderness, and safe from Grimm. The four kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral had lived in a time of peace, war and conflict few and far between as such negativity would assuredly attract the Grimm, but beyond the explored world, beyond the lands taken by the Grimm, lies a Kingdom that has of yet been watching as the world around them grew, advanced, and, in their eyes, failed in its duties. They watched as their brethren squandered what they had, ignorant of the looming threat that was even now creeping forwards to strike. It was the blood of this kingdom that held it at bay for centuries, their lives that had been sacrificed to stem the hordes of Grimm that threatened to overwhelm the Kingdoms with sheer force of numbers. It was during these countless battles that their technology, their very society, had grown and come to understand the one truth in the world; they must stand united, Mankind and Faunus, if they were to have any hope of defeating the darkness. They are the Kingdom of Virtus, and Their Will is Iron.

* * *

For thousands of years, the Kingdom of Virtus had stood as a force of peace, order, and protection in the lands it governed uniting all under its banner with the will to survive and thrive alongside their fellows. While most in the world would see the Kingdom as strange, and utterly mad in some cases, it would never be said that bigotry and hatred had ever gained a hold within the nation. There were disputes, arguments, but there was never an issue with citizenship or rights. As early as their history stretches, Virtus' citizens had believed in the community above all else, for the community was family, and family stuck together.

Unlike most of the world, Virtus had no laws against Faunus, nor any favoring one race or another, for within the kingdom's walls, all were equal in life and all had to support the community in some way. As such, it was unsurprising when a mandatory three years of military service was required for all at the age of 18, that all farmers were to donate a portion of their crops to the local garrisons and ration warehouses for storage and use in time of crisis, or that a portion of the money people earned at their jobs was collected with the intent on supplying the military and government with the funds necessary to maintain the nation's infrastructure, defenses, and research into the sciences. With the accumulation of finances with this system, research into the military, health care, and other necessities saw to a prosperity that only the wealthy enjoyed in the rest of the world, and it was now time to share what they had gained with the other nations of Remnant.

For the past twenty years, Virtus' leadership had been preparing the nation for the time they revealed themselves to the world and now that time had come. A small fleet was assembled, representing the best and brightest among the military diplomatic, and societal fields, and all escorted by a fleet of warships, led by Admiral Argint Sky. Renowned throughout Virtus as a military and tactical prodigy, she quickly rose through the ranks of the officer corps, becoming the youngest to reach admiral at the age of thirty-seven, and having earned an undying loyalty from her commanders and crew. Now at the age of forty-nine, she was close to having to retire from the field and being stuck behind a desk to make way for a younger, but still equally qualified commander to take her place. She stood at an impressive 1.8 meters, her physique was devoid of unnecessary fat, scarred from years of service in the Fleet, and her chest was adorned with awards she had earned in the fires of combat against the Grimm hoards. Her uniform, all black with a neat, bright red lining on the cuffs, collar, and edges, was freshly pressed and her matching officers cover sat smartly upon her head. Her hands were embraced by black leather gloves, dress shoes freshly polished, and the saber that all officers of the Fleet wore was attached at her hip, her left hand resting upon its pommel. She was the exact the picture of what an officer in the Virtus Royal Air Fleet should look like.

Letting loose a near silent, weary sigh, she lifted her cap and ran a hand through her greying hair, a pair of equally grey wolf ears popping up from her hair before being covered once again by her cap. The clacking of boots on the deck of the Combat Information Center's deck signaled the arrival of her executive officer, Commodore Daniel Westerland. A man of forty-three, with silver hair and wearing a similar uniform to his superior, he stood next to her as she stared at the main view screen in the center of the room, displaying the landscape ahead of them as a camera on the ship's bow adjusted the view for its occupants. Their destination, the Kingdom of Vale, was not yet in sight and it would be another seven hours of cruising before they would begin to see the continent, and even pick up the radio broadcasts. But that was not what the subordinate officer was concentrating on. Instead, he focused on his superior, who was beginning to show slight signs of just how exhausted she was, "If I may say so, ma'am, you don't look so well."

"I had expected you to say that, Daniel," she answered as her hand massaged the sleep from her eyes and fell back to her side. "I haven't slept since we left, making sure we-"

Commodore Westerland decided then to interrupt his superior, something that would normally not be tolerated on board any warship, but having been friends with your superior since the academy had its advantages, "You know that's just an excuse Argint. You just let your work take over and forgot to stop again. Go get some sleep, I can handle the watch till we reach Vale's borders."

This had been a recurring conversation between them ever since they were cadets. She would always work herself to the bone, only stopping to take a quick nap and eat before throwing herself back into her work. He would then come along, and convince her to go get some rest, where he made sure she got eight hours of sleep before he even let her near any work again. She never did figure out how he always convinced her, "I knew you would say that too. Any way I could convince you I'm fine?"

Westerland gave a short chuckle at her response, "You know you can't. Go get some rest, I'll call you if something happens." Sky gave one last tired sigh before she began to walk back to her quarters. Westerland waited until she was around the corner and out of sight, then checked the security cameras just to be sure, before he turned his attention back to the screen and watched as the waves and clouds drifted by his craft's view, "This is going to be a long seven hours."

His attention was called to a young officer sitting at one of the many stations lining the walls of the command room, as an alarm went off on her console. She was young, barely out of the academy and most likely on her first deployment, but her posture was firm and alert, a testament to the training instilled into their recruits, unlike Atlas' military force, "Sir, I've picked up a distress call on the emergency channels."

 _What a way to start the day_ , though Westerland as he dialed up the Admiral's personal communicator.

* * *

Three decks below the ship's main command center was the marine barracks, an entire deck dedicated to the equipment, housing, and training of the Virtus Marine Corps servicemen and women stationed aboard. Walking down the passageways of the mighty ship was Mathew Donneley, a fairly new face to the crew, but not one that was unknown to the Corps. He had served in the Marines for as long as he could remember, nearly nine full years of service to his people. At first, he had joined as part of the mandatory service that all young men and women were obligated to, barring any disabilities or medical reasons that prohibited their enlistment, and got out to help his family with their small shop in the country, but as days turned into months, he began to feel empty, like he was missing something in his life. That was the military. He missed the structure, the camaraderie, the knowledge that each man or woman beside him would be there for him until death. He had talked it over with his family and they had come to the same conclusion he had, and helped him prepare for re-enlistment. Once he put on the iconic green camouflage and combat boots, he had felt complete once more.

Now, here he was, bright red hair cropped at regulation length, uniform freshly pressed, the silver collar devices of his promotion to gunnery sergeant gleaming in the low light, and his standard issue M-3 Predator handgun folded into the holster on his right hip with the two spare magazines on his left. His face and fair skin marred with scars from past battles, his heart and mind heavy with friends lost to the Grimm.

Grimm. A name that soured his mood whenever he heard it. For as long as they had existed, the beasts had hunted everything and everyone that had walked the planet. They could not be bargained or reasoned with, they did not feel pity, remorse, or fear and would never stop, ever, until they were all dead. Donneley had grown to hate the creatures for as long as he had existed and like every other service member, vowed to never let a single one of the hell-spawn into their home.

He shook his head to clear the depressing, anger filled thoughts from his mind as his new superior walked around the corner ahead of him, steel toed boots clinking away at the deck plating as he approached. The silver bar denoting him as a first lieutenant gleaming and his side arm also at his side. On his left breast, his name was stitched into the fabric of his blouse, "Gardner" it said, and on his right, just under the pocket, was a spread eagle clutching a rifle and a arrows in its talons. His face was not as scarred as the gunnery sergeant, his head shaved and his skin tanned from the years he spent in the dessert regions of their continent. His gait was that of someone who was on a mission, his face determined and grim, "Walk with me Gunny."

Donneley fell into step beside his superior as they trudged deeper into the ship, towards the armory, "Something going on sir?"

Gardner gave his second a grunting reply with the voice that brokered no argument or rebuttal, "I've had a mild shock from my semblance. I want you to gear up and get the platoon ready to move out, now."

The man's words had immediately put the non-commissioned officer on alert, picking up his pace slightly. Semblances were, as far as Remnant had been able to discern, an extension of their souls, fueled by Aura, the lifeblood of all life on Remnant, except the Grimm, who lacked such a thing as a soul. He had read up on the files for his new unit, with the lieutenant's being quite the anomaly as his semblance was only described as premonitions, quick images of the near future. Those who served with him had learned to trust the man's instincts and semblance as it had led them all out of situations that would have assuredly led to their demise. The fact that his commanding officer was telling him to ready himself and the men sent warning bells off in his head, "Expecting a fight,sir?"

"Yes Gunny, I am."

He needed no further convincing and gave a firm nod to the man as he took off down the corridor, leaning into the on board birthing area for their unit and giving the order to don their gear, when the alarms started to go off and the voice of one of the crew sounded throughout the ship, "General quarters, general quarters! All hands, man your battle stations. This is not a drill. Repeat, general quarters, general quarters!" The voice continued to ring in his ears but he and those around him paid it no mind as they all rushed down the passageway to their assigned stations to combat whatever threat lay ahead and carryout their superior's orders to the letter. What a way to start the day.

 **Information Database:**

 **-Military Designations:**

 **-Commanding Officer (CO): the highest ranking officer on a post or in a unit.**

 **-Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO): an enlisted serviceman that is bestowed with the ranks of the upper echelons of enlisted service men, and serve under officers as section heads or squad leaders.**

 **-Warship Design:**

 **-Combat Information Center (CIC): the brain of all Virtus warships, and the main command center where the ship's officers issue orders to their subordinates. Located deep within the hull of a ship, it is the safest place on board, as it is protected by thick hull and armor of the warship.**

 **Thank you all for partaking in the first ever chapter for my first ever RWBY fic. I hope you all enjoyed it. Just a heads up, yes, Virtus will be using Mass Effect based weapons and ships, with a few twists as they will still use dust based ammunition and fuel. The only thing I'm using is the aesthetics, which is why it is not being placed in the crossover section. I'm only using the looks, not the actual tech, with exception of the folding weapons. It is perfect for this world. Leave a review if you please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am writing again! I apologize to everyone for my long delay in continuing the tale, but the institute that I'm currently in had drained me of my will to write and creativity, but recent events have lifted the pressure and I feel alive once more. Now, with that out of the way, I have been seeing the new volume of RWBY, and had my inspiration sparked the new newest episode I've seen. I hope you all like what I put out and continue to support. Also, I made a minor change to the timeline with the new episodes, and had an idea that was fantastic. I hope you all like what's to come.**

The world of Remnant has always been a treacherous place to call home. With each passing day, the grim attacked cargo ships, passenger liners, even military craft were all lost to the servants of darkness. Many huntsmen and huntresses had been dispatched by the kingdoms and academies to help thin the Grimm populations to help make traveling between the kingdoms safer for everyone, but while the Grimm were dealt with in many regions, there were those that slipped through the net cast by the kingdoms, leading to the current situation aboard one lone passenger ship as she shuddered from the force of another near miss by a volley of Nevermore quills as they shot past the medium sided transport. The screams of fear that its occupants unleashed was like a symphony of beauty to the massive, bird-like entity as it dove down at the transport, plucking a pair of crewmen from its bow deck guns and making off into the air with its meal.

The sounds of their pleas filled it with pleasure as monster opened up its beak enough for them to fall in, all in view of those on the ship, spreading the negativity even further. The fear, the sorrow, the anger, the hopelessness; all washed over the massive bird as it relished in its fun.

On-board, the crew and passengers were crying out at the sight of their fellows' demise. The monstrous beast had been picking them off for well over an hour now, seeming to enjoy the torture it inflicted on all within the ship's hull. The cries of the fearful echoed within the ears of Sienna Khan, a tiger Faunus and leader of the White Fang, as she watched the horrors unfolding before her. Despite being in the White Fang and not being inclined to like humans in particular, she couldn't help but hug the two children that were clinging to her a little tighter as their terrified voices reached her ears. Thinking back on the day, she was regretting not bringing along some of her home's militia for the journey as Ghira had recommended.

As another wave of feathers scraped along the hull and the ship rocked from the impacts, one of her charges held on just that much tighter. Blair Green and her twin brother Xander Green; orphans from a small village in the middle of nowhere, which was attacked by raiders and left for the Grimm once they arrived, drawn to the negativity that had saturated the air. Against all odds, the two had not only survived the ordeal, they had managed to make their way through a Grimm infested forest and to the next town, where they stowed away on an airship bound for Vale, the very ship she had boarded. The crew had found them shortly after take off, discussing what to do with them, and then the Nevermore came.

Everyone outside was rushed into the ship's interior and all the crew had stood to fight off the beast, Sienna had even seen several of the passengers rush to help when the crew had begun to take casualties. During the battle, brother and sister had latched onto the closest person they could for safety and comfort, even if temporary. Ironically, it was her. Not knowing what had come over her, the tigress had wrapped her arms around the pair, muttering words of comfort at them. Human they may be, but they were still children and even her dislike for the species wasn't strong enough to stop the small thought that drifted through her head, telling her to protect them. She returned Blair's tightened grip with more words of comfort as she watched the Grimm continue to attack. It dove down and then up again, dodging the vessels defensive weapons before it rose up from above and spread its wings, preparing to dive. A cry once again rose up fro bot the beast and the people as it folded its wings against it and dove like a hawk towards them.

Sienna closed her eyes and hugged the Green twins closer, waiting for the inevitable pain that would come, but it never did. Instead, a great cry of pain met her ears, the Nevermore's cry, as her amber eyes watched in shock with everyone else as the bird dove to the left and away from them, a large gash in its side. An unnatural roar met her enhanced hearing when a grey and red blur streaked past the window. Following it, she was met with a sight she had never seen before. It was an airship, but the design, while similar to Atlesian warships, was completely different. It looked akin to a bird in its overall design, but what truly caught her eye was the sigil upon its bulky hull just before the engines, the outline of a wolf, wings spread upon its back, standing tall, its chest puffed out in pride. It was simply designed, but she had no doubt that it held great meaning to its creators, and she was happy to see it as it meant that they were saved.

She airship turned and fought with the Grimm, dodging its quills with and ease and grace that one should not have seen in a ship its size. If she were to guess, the vessel was around two hundred meters long, and should not have been doing the moves it was doing without tearing itself apart. Three more ships just like it joined in the aerial dance, each taking their own shots at the Grimm before darting out of the way for one of its sisters to take their own. One last shot hit the Grimm's wing and sheared it clean off, sending the Grimm plummeting into the ground with one final cry of agony. Then, a low rumble filled the air as a ship of monstrous size moved along side their transport, similar in design, but with an additional two engines, two on either side and one below the other. On its hull, multiple different gun emplacements could be seen and on its wings and dorsal section, large caliber cannons jutted out. It was no doubt a warship, and it looked like it could take on a fleet all on ts own and emerge victorious, a terrifying sight. The overhead intercom crackled to life with static before a voice, strict and crisp, filled the now silent ship with her voice, " _Attention civilian vessel. This is Admiral_ _Argint Sky of the Virtus Royal Air Fleet, do you require assistance?_ "

The static from the speakers were the only answer to greet them as they cruised along the sky. Again, this "Admiral Sky" called to them and again they received silence. The seconds seemed to drag on as the woman's voice once again repeated herself a third time and again was met with static, but the final time she spoke sent a chill down her spine, " _Civilian vessel, prepare to be boarded_."

Sienna was not keen on meeting anyone who controlled such a monstrous vessel, whether or not the group had saved their lives, and some of the other passengers had started to look around in panic as a two small, boxy transports exited from underneath the ships wings and moved in their direction. They could see the bottom edge of one as it stopped at the main deck above them and the clanking of boots echoed within the hull. Sienna held onto the kids as the echoes got closer and closer, her superior hearing catching pieces of their words, but mostly hearing only the shifting of equipment and the clanking of what could only be armor as they stopped at the door. She could hear them trying to pry open the doors, and waited with baited breath.

Something clicked off to her left, and turning, she saw a man pull out a pistol and aim it at the door. Looking into his eyes, she could tell he was scared, and likely would cause unnecessary injury to their 'rescuers', and therefore decided to speak to him, but before she could, the double, sliding doors at the end cracked open. Through it, she could see an armored form trying to pry the door open, but a shot rang out and the armored person let go, diving to the side to avoid the shot. The round hit the steel of the door and the sound of the shot echoed in her ears, drowning out the words of both parties. She could see the man holding the gun moving his lips frantically, but she couldn't hear what he said. Looking at the door, she saw a hand slowly exiting out of cover as the person's head and body followed. They were covered head to tow in armor and weaponry, definitely a soldier of some kind given the similarities she could glimpse at those still in the hall.

The man, she assumed a man given the build, walked slowly with measured steps as he approached the scared crowed. He reached out both hands slowly, drawing ever closer to the man, before finally reaching him and turning one hand over, a gesture to surrender his gun. Her hearing had now started to return, and she could hear the muttered words of acceptance from him as he placed the pistol in the open hand. A collective sigh left the crowd as the rest of the soldiers moved in, weapons lowered, but still in hand.

They were a strange group, armor unlike anything she had ever seen or heard of, weapons of a completely unknown design, but what truly gave her pause were the people themselves, they were Human and Faunus. This came as a shock as Vale was the only Kingdom to employ Faunus in its military forces, but they clearly weren't from Vale, which begged the question; who are these people?

A female monkey Faunus, judging by the tail protruding from her armor, placed one hand to her head, listening to something before turning back to the man before them, "Gunny, team two just reported in. Bridge is secured, two survivors, but they will need medical attention. Multiple other casualties reported by other search teams."

'Gunny' nodded and raise his hand to his to side of his own helmet, a faint click was heard in the silence, "Admiral, this is Boarding Team One. Transport is secure. Multiple casualties among the crew reported, several critically. Passengers have been located and appear to be unharmed. What are your orders?"

Silence passed, and for what felt like an eternity, Sienna waited. She could hear the faint conversation taking place between superior and subordinate, assuming that 'Gunny' was the man's rank and not his name. His hand dropped to the side and he turned back to the crowd of people, apprehensively waiting for their fate, "Alright, listen up. You are all going to be evacuated onto our ship, and we will transport you all to Vale. Your questions will be answered by the Admiral once everyone is on-board."

"But who are you people," raised a voice from the group.

"Yeah, we don't know you," called another. "You're not Hunters, and your not from the Kingdoms, so why should we listen to you?"

His voice echoed above the others, an air of calm authority pouring from every word, "Because, we are the ones with a ship, and this one has taken too much damage to get you to Vale. You will crash in the ocean and drown if you stay."

While blunt, he spoke the truth. Sienna could hear the hull creaking under the stress from all of the Nevermore's attacks, and the slight tilting of the ship as it started to list to port. The ship was going down, and while she could swim rather well, her two charges were not so strong and she doubted that anyone could swim the distance from here to Vale. They had no choice but to accept their help. Wordlessly, she kept the two close to her side, and moved forward, slowly exiting the crowd and approached them. The helm of 'Gunny' turned to her and briefly glanced at the twins, before he spoke, "Are they yours?"

"No," she answered, "but I am watching over them." A small smile crept onto his lips as he watched them move past and be ushered out by other soldiers waiting in the hall.

One by one, the people of the now sinking ship moved along the passageways of the ship and up onto the main deck, where they saw several more of the brick like craft waiting for them. She boarded the first one when the last bit of room was filled, the doors slid close and the craft shifted as it flew to their new, temporary residence. Looking through the open cockpit, Sienna saw something that was only possible in science fiction; they had holographic controls. That fact alone spoke about what other technologies they could possible have. The Kingdoms had holograms as well, but nothing that could be used to input information and be used like regular interfaces. There's were more for projection, so if these people could make ships that maneuvered like theirs, had weapons and armor that were completely unknown, and had holograms as basic interfaces, it also begged the question of what else they could do.

The shaking of their transport as it touched down gave Sienna a pause in her thoughts. The door opened, and gave them all a view of a massive hangar area, where other aircraft and vehicles were being maintained, repaired, or landing and launching. More transports arrived and the hangar was soon flooded with people as the soldiers directed them all to an area that was cleared of equipment and personnel. Following the flow of bodies, they all had gathered and were now waiting for whoever was in charge to talk to them, not having to wait long as the woman in question, 'Admiral Sky' as she called herself, entered the massive room, a call ringing out as she did, "Attention on deck!" As one, the crews stopped their work and snapped to attention, their bodies ridged and their hands snapping to a salute for their leader, crisp and precise. It was so very… regimented, orderly, just like Atlas, but everything around them said otherwise.

They watched as the smartly dressed woman stepped upon a nearby crate and looked over all of them, her eyes briefly lingering on Sienna and the two with her, before she straightened and declared in a voice that demanded respect and commanded authority, a voice of an experienced officer, "Greetings to you all. I am Argint Sky, Admiral of the Virtus Royal Air Fleet and Commanding Officer of this task force. I welcome you all onto my flagship, the _VRAS Reverence of Unity_. I know you all have questions and are eager to get to Vale, but due the Grimm presence we have detected, we will be taking and alternate route, and you will all be staying on-board for a period of three days. That being said, we have prepared an area in our cargo hold to house you as we do not have enough guest quarters. Those will be distributed to families and couples. There are areas that have been designated off limits, they have been marked with signs and guards have been posted. Under no circumstances are you to enter these areas. If you are caught doing so, you will be spending your stay in the brig. There will be guards posted around the ship, if you need directions do speak to one of them. The galley, lounge, and ship's library are available for your use, but please respect the rules of these areas or those privileges will be restricted. Any disagreements with these basic ground rules, bring them to my attention after you have all been settled in. Please remain in your permitted areas and avoid breaking these rules, and we will all get along perfectly. Any questions you have can be directed to either myself or any of the guards who will be watching over you at all times. Now, are there any questions?"

The room then erupted into chaos.

 **Thank you all for reading! I am sorry once again for the delay, but rest assured that I will continue to update as time permits. For an image of the ships and armor used by them kingdom, look up Turian cruisers for the base design, human systems alliance armor, and the UT47 Kodiak for the shuttles. I will add in more as time goes on. Until next time!**


End file.
